Sawmill, night.
The girl turned from one side to the other again, trying to find a comfortable position in such an uncomfortable and hard bed. The mattresses in the novice village were much more comfortable than this place, and how could the Executioner fall asleep almost instantly? Liza helplessly opened her eyes, directing a tired gaze at the covered ceiling, completely plunged into darkness. Then she shifted it to the long-extinguished campfire, in which embers were barely smoldering.
Nearby, as if a couple of meters beyond the wall, a loud and terrible howl was heard, echoed by clearly more than one mutant throat. Something scraped against the brickwork, and Liza could swear that behind the grinding she heard someone's heavy breathing. All she could do was shiver and wrap herself tighter
in the thick, prickly blanket, hoping that the walls and locked doors would protect them.
"God," she whispered with dry lips, closing her eyes and shuddering from the horror that washed over her. "Why did I even get into this..."
A few tears rolled down her smooth cheeks, and her nose was almost immediately stuffed with snot. Only recently had she begun to understand what a terrible place she had gotten into. What about the harassment from men? She, like many other girls, constantly went through this. Loose hands, sticky and disgusting glances – she had experienced all this more than once. Ha! How conceited she was, believing that mutants were nothing to her, just simple animals, only scary, and she could fend off people. And anomalies with radiation – don't get close and you'll be fine.
What's the result? If it weren't for her escort, she would have already been crucified by several dirty men and thrown into some ditch. If she was lucky, and if not... And it was so scary – the shootout, the corpses, and the wound that remained on her savior's body. And the mutants who are still trying to get to her while the Executioner sleeps? The girl didn't know why she had such a feeling, but it seemed to her that whatever was trying to break through the wall wouldn't touch the stalker, only feasting on her.
Literally everything indicated that the Zone was not happy with her. The crying girl cast a quick glance at the broad, sleeping back and shook her head. She subconsciously felt that it was all about her alone. As if some quality of her character or something like that had displeased the mistress of these places to death, and she was doing everything to make the girl turn back. And Liza was on the verge of it. If she had the strength, she would have woken the stalker right now and forced him to take her back to the Cordon, and from there... But no, she couldn't turn back now. Her brother was so close, a day's journey away. She had to reach her goal!
Liza sniffled one last time, wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her leather jacket, and closed her eyes again, trying to fall asleep to the howling wind and the grinding of someone's sharp claws.
Sawmill, morning.
The night was excellent; I haven't slept so well in a long time, even though I didn't dream anything. It's just a shame that Liza is a bit sluggish and gloomy right from waking up. She hasn't gotten used to the living conditions here yet, the girl. Well, it's okay, it shouldn't be so dangerous in the Gut, especially after destroying the pack of tarkovs.
After dividing the hastily prepared breakfast in half, I begin further preparations for our hike. I check the purple bruise, the edges of which have already turned yellow, pull on my suit, and inspect our equipment. I should have done this yesterday, but it was too dark for it. My guns were in perfect order, but Liza's pistol and shotgun were in a rather sorry state. Dust, gunpowder residue, and dirt, in short, they needed thorough cleaning.
There was, however, another option: to give her one of the hunting rifles of the hunters I had recently dealt with. Those were in very good condition, and it would be less hassle for me personally, but in the end, I changed my mind. I don't think she can handle such heavy weapons – she has minimal shooting training, and it's also heavier than a shotgun. So, no. But I did get some more buckshot from the former owners' stores, which I gave to the girl.
"Did something happen last night?" I ask her while wiping the shotgun with a rag.
"N-no," Liza shakes her head, lacing up her boots. "I just didn't sleep well... Can I ask something?"
"Of course," I nod, examining the weapon again until I'm sure it won't jam anytime soon.
"Denis, my brother, you know," the girl says, correcting herself and pacing a bit around the room, as if choosing her words. "Um-m..."
"I'm listening."
"In general... Can I trust you?"
"We-ell," I was a little taken aback by her question. "You're here with me. Alive, fed, and untouched. I think I deserve at least your trust."
"Well, yes," Liza replies quietly. "In general, my brother should have a stash here. Uh, I mean, not right here, but in the Dark Valley in general. And I would like to take a look there, if you don't mind."
"Do you even know where it should be?"
"Uh-huh," she nods readily. "Denis told me that he hid something for a rainy day. How was it... Under the rails in the eastern tunnel by the collapsed railway tracks."
"No problem, it's on our way, but... Why do you need it? Stashes aren't made for nothing, you know. Especially for a rainy day."
"I thought a lot yesterday about your words, and... If you turn out to be right, God forbid, the contents of the stash will help me find my brother."
"Okay," I shrug. What else can I say?
I hand the girl the shotgun, get up from the bed, and walk to the corner where I put the collected equipment from the hunters in a drawer. I pick up the best-looking pistol – a Tula Tokarev, a couple of full magazines for it, and a double-barreled shotgun. Then, under the girl's bewildered gaze, I throw a few buckshot shells into my backpack.
"Why do you need that?" it bursts out of her mouth.
"Exchange," I answer her briefly, and seeing the complete misunderstanding on her face, I decide to explain. "If that stash was made for a rainy day, then your brother is probably counting on it. It would be a scummy thing to deprive him of that chance for survival that the cache can provide. So, we'll take what's there, and leave this in return – then Denis will at least be able to fight off whatever is pursuing him or get some food."
"Ah-h," the girl draws out in shock, clearly not having thought about this moment. "I didn't even think... I don't really want to take it now..."
"It's okay," I say quickly. "At least we'll see what's there. Maybe there'll be some clue or something like that."
"Okay," Liza smiles with relief.
After gathering a little more courage and checking that we had taken everything with us, we finally completed the final preparations, and now we could safely move forward. We leave our temporary shelter and head north. We decided to go along a wide forest path, trodden many years ago when clients still visited the sawmill. Judging by the maps, this is the shortest way to the northern part of the location, and I'll deal with the forest beasts somehow.
Although the road was short, it stretched for almost three full hours. The girl was puffing amusingly the whole time, which sometimes required short breaks; after all, she was not used to such long forest treks when the road was not a road, but a solid mess of stones, bumps, and thick roots that had grown out of the ground, overgrown with grass. By the way, we didn't encounter any mutants, except for a few blind ones that rushed past us at high speed. They apparently had plenty to do without us.
So, when we reached the coveted bridge, we were quite tired. If Liza was physically tired, then I was more mentally tired – I'm not used to such slow transitions. Usually, stalkers move faster. But that's okay, there's another small test ahead. We had to climb a steep hill on loose soil – the bridge itself rose ten to fifteen meters above the asphalt road.
"Can we, *cough*, " the girl asks me, coughing slightly. "Can we rest before we climb there?"
"No-o," I refuse her. "We'll take a short break on the elevation; there's only the last push left. Let's go."
"O-okay..."
Despite Liza's resigned look, we climbed up almost immediately and without the slightest problem. When we could touch the concrete surface of the bridge with our hands, I signal the girl to wait a bit, and I climb up to check if there will be any sudden surprises. I try to peek – it seems like no one is there, but I need to be sure. I place my palms on the floor, tense my arms, and, jumping slightly, throw my right leg onto the base of the bridge, then climb onto it completely without any problems and stand up straight. No mutants, no people, nothing. Only anomalous funnels in the collapsed part of the bridge.
I extend my hand to the girl and help her up, and now we both look around here. A wide tunnel with a blockage visible there – is that a common feature of almost all tunnels in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone? In general, there was nothing remarkable about it. Gray putty, peeking bricks, and rusty rails with rotten boards. I look back to see the remains of the structure and realize that this bridge was built according to the same project as the Cordon one – only the hanging train is missing.
I take a few steps forward to look inside the tunnel, when suddenly the dosimeter in my chest pocket starts crackling. Well, it's not surprising. Iron rails, all that stuff... I should have thought of that earlier. I had to stop and grab the girl's hand; she looked at me strangely, so I had to show her the dosimeter and its readings.
"One microsievert per hour, one point one..." I say the readings aloud. "Safe level is zero point five microsieverts per hour. This means that the radiation level now exceeds the permissible level by two times. And the further into the tunnel, the stronger it gets."
"And what should we do?" the girl says, somewhat frightened, taking two wide steps back.
"Take off your pants and run," I grumble, pulling a gas mask over my head. "I can check the stash alone; you'll just have to stand outside in plain sight. Or we'll do it together, but then I'll inject you with an antirad. It will instantly extinguish all the radiation in your blood. What do you choose?"
"Will it definitely help?" and, after receiving my affirmative nod, she continues. "Then together! I don't want to stand here alone..."
We enter the vaults of the dark tunnel together, I turn on my flashlight and start illuminating the rails, under one of which the stash should have been. We walk almost
to the very end, occasionally kicking large stones by accident. I accidentally catch traces on the floor with the beam of light, a month or more old – the dust layer was slightly less than in other places. Size forty-four boots... And where do they lead? To the very end, almost under the collapse.
I move closer and look under the rails. Oh, here's the stash – under the railway track, there was a large indentation, as if someone had forcibly chipped off pieces of stone. A backpack was peeking out from there. I pull it out and try to determine the weight of the contents, but I feel nothing. It feels like there's nothing there. Either money was hidden here, or Denis took everything that was there, leaving only the bag.
"Liz, I found it!" I show the girl the backpack with my arm extended. "I'll leave the weapon here now and we'll see what's inside."
I place it a little to the side and stuff the pistol into the recess, along with spare magazines and buckshot. I have to leave the shotgun outside; I just leaned it against the rail. Alas, it won't fit entirely. The exchange has been made, which means we can go out. In about twenty wide steps, I cross the tunnel and come out to Liza, who was already standing outside. First, I take off the stuffy gas mask and then inject the preparation into the girl's arm, which makes her grimace amusingly.
"Here, take it," I hand her the found backpack.
"It's kind of light," she snorts, unzipping it and starting to rummage through the pockets. "Um, Executioner... There's nothing here."
"Yeah? That's why it seemed light to me," I sigh briefly. "Sorry, I didn't tell you right away, but I noticed traces there a month ago. They led right to the stash."
"Did someone steal Denis's things?" Liza shifts her frowning gaze from the backpack to me.
"Only if your brother himself told someone about this place," I chuckle, crossing my arms. "And the tracks led straight to the stash... So I think it was Denis himself. In any case, the news is joyful. At least a month or two ago, he was in these parts. This means the chances of finding him or getting on his trail have increased."
"I hope so," the girl exhales, letting the open backpack fall onto the concrete floor. "Where now?"
"We'll go down from the bridge and straight along the road, without turning anywhere," I answer her. "I don't know how long it will take, but I think by evening or night we'll reach the Dark Valley."
So we did. We carefully descended from the railway bridge; Liza almost fell, but I managed to catch her hand, and then we headed further along the road, broken by time. Occasionally, we encountered abandoned and long-spoiled cars with mangled bodies, sometimes we stumbled upon the dried remains of small animals, and soon we reached a village familiar to me.
It would be nice to stop there, especially since there were several decent houses with furniture, and that's certainly more comfortable than just sitting on the grass. But from that side, we heard satisfied grunts and squeals. Most likely, wild boars were attracted to the corpses I left behind and were now in no hurry to leave such a fertile place. And getting into a fight with the wildlife for a shabby sofa seemed a bit foolish, so it was decided to go a little further, at a slightly more relaxed pace, and set up a small rest stop somewhere there.
Forty minutes later, we stumbled upon an excellent spot. A small clearing not far from the road, hidden by a couple of bushes of wild rosehip and a few low birches. I sit directly on the soft grass, leaning my back against the wide trunk of an oak tree, which stood out among the white trees. I take out a pack of crackers and stewed meat from my backpack and offer it to Liza.
"Will you eat?" I ask the girl, who sat down to my left.
"Just the cookies, thank you," she says, taking the crunchy package. "And you won't eat?"
"I don't want to," I say, putting the stewed meat back. I really didn't feel like eating now. I close my eyes for a moment, and then I hear Liza's loud cry.
"Executioner!" the girl shouts, and the crunch of fallen branches is heard ahead. I jump to my feet and open my eyes to see something I never expected.
Through the bushes, with its ugly nose sniffing the air, the chimera itself peered into our clearing. Two ugly heads, one of which hung limply to the side and only bared its teeth, the second immediately turned its gaze to us. Huge, almost a meter and a half tall, and I don't even know how long. Brown skin with huge muscles rippling beneath it and bulging veins. Large claws on its paws left deep furrows in the ground. Damn-damn-damn!
"Go away!" I say loudly, looking directly at the chimera, while it clearly wasn't in a hurry to attack. "Go away, or I'll kill you!"
"Executioner..." the girl whimpered behind me and tugged at the edge of my suit.
The chimera immediately twitched its short ears and snarled, opening its maw full of sharp and huge teeth. It pressed itself to the ground and tensed the muscles of its paws, preparing to pounce. Bitch! I push Liza away as hard as I can so that she falls to the ground, and I duck down, letting the huge carcass pass over my head, which crossed the few meters separating us in an instant.
I hear the girl's scream, and I pull my revolver from its holster – it's what I need right now. Too small a caliber simply won't penetrate the chimera; it will get stuck in it. I turn on my heel to see this creature flying straight at my chest.
Same place, same time.
The girl who fell to the ground cried out softly in pain – a few small twigs had dug into the skin of her palms, drawing blood. Cursing, she tried to get up, but only saw the creature that had flown over their heads, she and Executioner, knock down a small tree with its massive body and instantly turn around to jump back. A dull thud is heard, and Liza can only watch powerlessly as the monster knocks down the stalker.
The girl grabbed the shotgun lying on the grass and fired a double-barreled blast of buckshot, which unfortunately flew over the mutant's head. The recoil throbbed painfully in her hands, and Liza involuntarily dropped the weapon. The creature, as if having lost interest in Executioner, slowly turned and headed straight for the girl. In a silent scream, she began to crawl backward, while inevitable death in the form of the mutant loomed over her. Almost everything flew out of her head, except for one single thought: "Why did I go further? Why didn't I turn back when I had the chance?"
But then a miracle happened, which Liza could not have dreamed of. Executioner, with a face distorted by pain and rage, caught up with the monster, leveled with its ugly muzzle, and, as it turned to him, sharply raised the revolver lying in his two palms. There followed one shot, like thunder, then another, and another. With each one, the creature recoiled to the side, unable to withstand the blows it received, until it absurdly fell on its side with two shot heads.
The stalker wearily fell to his knees, still holding the pistol at chest level, and fired the last two rounds, aiming at the monster's sternum. It silently took two more shots, not even trying to move. Executioner unclicked the revolver's cylinder, the casings rained onto the grass, and the stalker reloaded the formidable pistol with trembling hands, taking out one bullet after another from his pouch.
"Axe," the stalker hissed, wincing. "Bring the axe from my backpack!"
The girl obediently followed his instructions while the stalker kept the mutant in his sights. Then he took the axe from her hands, slowly stood up, put the pistol in his holster, and began to chop off the monster's heads.
"W-w-why?" she asked quietly, barely audibly.
"To, kkh!" Executioner replied between powerful blows. "This! Thing! Didn't! Regenerate! All..."
The stalker threw the axe aside when both of the mutant's heads were severed from its body, and the entire clearing, as well as the stalker himself from head to toe, was covered in blood. Then he collapsed to the ground, exhausted, breathing heavily and frequently, catching his breath. At the same time, the knot of tension that had gathered somewhere in the girl's lower abdomen unraveled on its own, and she cried with relief, releasing the accumulated emotions from the horror that had just occurred.
Approaches to the Dark Valley, closer to evening.
It was terrible. Nothing more, nothing less. There were no words other than expletives to describe this nightmare. And it happened! I only had to close my eyes for a moment, relax, and then, a chimera. And where? In the Gut, in the very south of the Zone, and in broad daylight! Pure fantasy, damn it. How did Zveroboy say, no one had seen chimeras in the last year and a half? Well, well, I'll tell you so much that you'll feel it on your own skin!
But this is just a little anger that I've been hit twice in the torso in the last 24 hours. I was lucky that the creature didn't break anything, but only worsened the already huge bruise. The main thing is that there are no complications. But in the near future, I'm definitely not a fighter, I'm moving with great difficulty now.
But Liza is holding up surprisingly well. I thought she was done for when she started sobbing uncontrollably in that unfortunate clearing. But no, after half an hour she pulled herself together and even helped me give myself first aid and wipe the blood off my jumpsuit. And she helped me carry my load the rest of the way, supporting my backpack.
In general, the rest of the way to the Dark Valley was in complete peace, as if the mutants and possible anomalies, sensing my angry and disgusting mood, had decided to hide as deeply and as far away from the road as possible. And when the familiar metal gates from the first part appeared ahead, I exhaled calmly, feeling that life was getting better. After all, we made
it, only a little bit left, and then I'll stuff myself to my heart's content, drink something strong, and go to sleep.
"Halt, man! Who are you, why are you here?" And even this man in a green jumpsuit, who came out from behind the corner of the concrete fence, couldn't spoil my joy. "And where did you get so dirty, huh, cowboy?"